Apparatus for the recovery of gases



June 13, 1950 s. A. M. HEIM 2,511,633

APPARATUS FOR THE RECOVERY OF GASES Original Filed Sept. 30, 1946 2Sheets-Sheet 1 4am ZWW June 13, 195 0 a. A. M. HEIM APPARATUS FOR THERECOVERY OF GASES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Sept. 1946 PatentedJune 13, 1950 UNITED STATES APPARATUS FOR THE RECOVERY OF GASES Originalapplication September 30, 1946, Serial No. 700,262. Divided and thisapplication June PATENT OFFICE 4, 1948, Serial No. 31,197. In GermanyMay 21,

Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires May 21, 1961 7Claims. (Cl. 1 88) The present application is a division of applicationSerial No. 700,262, filed'September 30, 1946, now-Patent No. 2,488,665.

This invention relates to the recovery of gases generated in thespinning of rayon and to the protection of spinning rooms againstcontamination by gases objectionable to operating personnel. Moreparticularly this invention relates to an apparatus for the recovery ofhydrogen sulphide which is incidentally produced in the spinning ofviscose in an acid spin bath, and to the protection of the spinningrooms against hydrogen sulphide contamination.

In the spinning of rayon yarn of the viscose type, a viscose spinningsolution is extruded through a spinnerette into a sulphuric acid bath.The reaction of the viscose with the acid of the bath results in thegeneration of hydrogen sulphide along the thread path immediatelyadjacent its point of emergence from the spinnerette. If this gas isallowed to accumulate in the spinning rooms in any substantialconcentration, acute discomfort to the operating personnel results.

In view of the foregoing, ithas been customary to maintain in spinningrooms a high degree of ventilation in order that the operating personnelmay be protected. While the conditioning of air in spinning roomshas-been successful in preventing injury and acute discomfort tooperating personnel, it is apparent that the procedure is inherentlyvery wasteful since to the cost of air conditioning, which is notinconsiderable when heating and humidifying requirements are met,must-be added the economic value of the hydrogen sulphide which iswasted to atmosphere. Furthermore, the wasting of large quantities ofhydrogen sulphide to atmosphere renders a good deal of the surroundingarea untenable for residential purposes.

It-has now been found possibleby the practice of the present inventionto reduce substantially the air conditioning requirements of rayonplants, to recover a large proportion of the hydrogen sulphide generatedincident to spinning, and to avoid imparting objectionable odors to thesurrounding atmosphere.

It is further an object/of this invention to attain the foregoingadvantages in a technically simple way without interference with thenormal spinning-apparatus and processes.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparentuponconsideration of the follow.- ing detailed description of twoembodimentsthereof in conjunction with the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of hydrogen sulphide recoveryapparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention andillustrated in association with a single spinning position;

Figure -2 is a diagrammatic representation of a modified type ofapparatus for the recovery of hydrogen sulphide which is also shown inassociation with a single spinning position; and

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic representation of an apparatus generallysimilar to a view normal to Figure 1 except that the hoodmember-is-elongated and accommodates several spinnerets and threadguiding elements.

Referring now in greater detail to Figure 1, the numeral 9 indicates thebottom of a spinbath tank and H! designates a spinnerette through whicha viscose solution is extruded to form a thread 1 I, the spinnerettebeing disposed below the surface of a spinning bath I2 which maybe ofany known composition but which maybe assumed to contain a largeproportion of sulphuric acid. After emergence from the spinning bath thethread I l is led upwardly over a revolving roller 13 and thendownwardly into the bath again and around a roller I4 from which it isled u ward y to and around a godet IE to a point of collection or aftertreatment, not shown. The roller 13 is supported from a-standard 9amounted on the bottom of spinbath tank 9.

The foregoing spinning arrangement is entirely conventional. It isproposed, however, in accordance with the present invention, to disposea hood 16 having depending portions I! in posi tion above thespinnerette ID in a position enveloping the thread path from and to thesurface of the spin bath and theroller ,l 3. The hood I6 is openatthebottom which liesbelow the surface of the spin bath l2 and isprovided with a gas outlet conduit 18 near its top. The hood 161s heldin position by suspension at its top from a cable 19 which passes arounda roller 20, the cable at its end remote from the end attached to thehood being provided with a counterweight 2|.

It can nowbe seenthat the hood -I 6, in-the position shown in Figure 1is disposed above the spinnerette and enveloping a portion of the threadpath so that gases evolved incident to reaction between the vicose andthe sulphuric acid of the spin bath will be collected in the hood. Thesegases may be withdrawn through conduit l8 and subjected to knownchemical processes 7 for the recovery of either sulphur or sulphuricacid as may be required. Since most of the gas produced incident to aspinning operation is evolved immediately after the extrusion of theviscose, it is apparent that the present invention affords a high degreeof recovery of hydrogen sulphide with concomitant reduction in the airconditioning requirements of the spinning room as a whole.

In view of the fact that the roller I3 is mounted near the top of thehood l6, and since in threading up it is necessary for the operator topass the thread over the top of this roller, the hood [6 is mounted forvertical adjustment. This adjustment is effected by pulling on theweight 2| to cause the hood to rise to a level such that the bottom ofits depending flanges lies above the the roller l3. In this positionthereading up can be effected conveniently and, after threading up, thehood may be restored to the position shown in Figure 1.

While the apparatus disclosed in Figure 1 involves a single hood above asingle spinning position, it is apparent that an elongate hood lGa maybe used in association with a plurality of aligned spinning positions Ia (see Figure 3). In this case, threading up can be effected in groupsand the gas recovered will be that emanating from the group ofspinningpositions. It is contemplated that the rollers |3a will be supported forrotation by a standard 9b extending upwardly from a position below thebottom of the hood as shown in Figure 3, this supporting means beingmounted on the bottom of spinbath tank 90 and adapted to be enveloped bythe hood. However, it is possible to mount the hoods in a stationarymaner as indicated in Figure 2. In this-case the hood 22 is mounted infixed position above a spinnerette 23 by means of a bracket 23aextending from side wall 231) of the spinbath tank. This bracket holdsthe hood 22 in position by collar 21 surrounding the hood. A roller 24is disposed in vertical sliding movement in a bearing 25 at the top ofthe hood 22. By this arrangement it is possible to lower the roller 24,as shown in broken lines, to a level below the bottom of the hood 22 sothat the apparatus may be threaded up to produce a thread path of thesame type as that disclosed in Figure 1. The gas collection is effectedin the same manner from hood 22 as was described above in connectionwith hood Hi. In the event hood 22 is made in elongate form similar tothatshown in Figure 3 to accommodate a, plurality of spinning points, itis contemplated that the rods '25 be connected together so that they maybe raised or lowered simultaneously. 7 It is apparent that the foregoingdisclosure of several embodiments of this invention is merelyillustrative and that various modifications are contemplated within thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus for the acid spinning of rayon yarn that includes aspinnerette immersed in a spinning bath, the improvement that comprisesa hood member open at its bottom and disposed above the spinnerette withits open bottom below the surface of the spinning bath, a conduit forwithdrawing gases from said hood, a thread guiding element disposedabove the surface of said bath and within said hood, and means forrelatively moving said hood and said thread guiding element in avertical direction to permit threading of the apparatus.

2. In apparatus for the acid spinning of rayon yarn that includes aspinnerette immersed in a spinning bath, the improvement that comprisesa hood disposed above the spinnerette, said hood having an open bottomnormally disposed below the surface of the spinning bath, a threadguiding element disposed above the surface of said bath and within saidhood, a conduit for drawing gases from said hood, and means forvertically moving said hood to a point above said thread guiding elementwhereby threading of the apparatus is facilitated.

3. In apparatus for the acid spinning of rayon yarn that includes aspinnerette immersed in a spinning bath, the improvement that comprisesa hood member disposed above a spinnerette, a thread guiding elementdisposed above the surface of the spinnin bath and within the hoodmember, said hood member having an open bottom, means for suspendingsaid hood from its top for vertical movement above a spinnerette from anormal position with its open bottom below the surface of the spin bath,to a raised posi-' tion with its bottom above said thread guidingelement.

4. In apparatus for the acid spinning of rayon yarn that includes aspinnerette immersed in a spinning bath, the improvement that comprisesa hood disposed above a spinnerette, said hood having an open bottomnormally disposed below the surface of the spinning bath, a threadguiding element disposed above the surface of said bath and within saidhood, a conduit for withdrawing gases from said hood and means forvertically moving said element to a point below the bottom of said hoodwhereby threading of the apparatus is facilitated.

5. In apparatus for the acid spinning of rayon yarn that includes aspinnerette immersed in a spinning bath, the improvement that comprisesa hood disposed above a spinnerette, said hood having an open bottomnormally disposed below the surface of the spinning bath, a threadguiding element disposed above the surface of said bath and within saidhood, a conduit for withdrawing gases from said hood, a bearing in thetop of said hood. a rod mounted for vertical reciprocation in saidbearing, said thread guiding element being attached to said rod so thatit may be lowered to a level below the open bottom of said hood tofacilitate threading the apparatus.

6. In apparatus for the acid spinning of rayon yarn that includes aplurality of spinnerettes disposed in spaced relation in a spinningbath. the improvement that comprises a hood member open at its bottomand disposed above the spinnerettes with its open bottom below thesurface of the spinnin bath, means for withdrawing gases from said hood,a plurality of thread guiding elements disposed above the surface ofsaid bath and within said hood, a thread guiding element beingassociated with each spinnerette, and means for relatively moving saidhood and said thread guiding elements in a vertical direction to permitthreading of the apparatus.

7. In apparatus for the acid spinning of rayon yarn that includes aplurality of spinnerettes disposed in spaced relation in a spinningbath, the

improvement that comprises a hood member open at its bottom and disposedabove the spinnerettes with its open bottom below the surface of thespinning bath, means for withdrawing gases from said hood, a pluralityof thread guiding elements disposed above the surface of said bath andwithin said hood, one of said elements being associated with eachspinnerette, and means for vertically moving said hood to a point abovesaid thread guiding elements whereby to facilitate the thread-REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

